A history of The Culinary Institute of America: 2012-22

In 1951, during The Culinary Institute of America’s relative infancy, Katharine Angell and Frances Roth guested on First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s NBC radio program (co-hosted with her son Elliott) in which Roth made a passing comment about the Institute that today resonates more than ever: “I believe this will be a school for all time.”

Indeed, the last decade of human history has witnessed heretofore unimaginable developments in the areas of gastronomy, food science, and the related fields of wine and mixology, and the Institute has kept pace, even setting the pace in some instances.

On the academic front, several new programs and partnerships defined this period, and illustrated the full spectrum of areas that merited attention: The modernist movement was echoed in a revolutionary new bachelor’s degree program in culinary science (launched in 2012), and other invigorating developments led to programs in farm-to-table cooking, advanced wines and beverages, and Latin cuisines. In 2014, responding to broadening food-and-beverage career possibilities, the school introduced a bachelor’s degree major in applied food studies.

New developments in gastronomy also made their way into the school’s student-run restaurants. In 2013, the Escoffier Room was rechristened The Bocuse Restaurant. Despite M. Bocuse’s ardent classicism, the dining room named for him employed all manner of molecular tools and technique, including sous vide and liquid nitrogen, crucial to the tableside ice cream preparation there. And in 2015, the CIA dramatically updated its restaurant program by incorporating the fast-casual style of the food-court era with The Egg, a sprawling dining venue boasting multiple concepts around a shared seating area in the expanded Student Commons in Hyde Park.

That same year, the CIA launched The Food Business School, directly addressing a long-neglected industry need – training young professionals not just for chefdom, but also for fiscal responsibility and long-term financial success. And, as the Internet Age settled in, the school introduced DISH, an exclusive, members-only premium membership avocational food and wine program; in a natural evolution, in 2020, the school met increased demand for virtual learning with an online degree program for a bachelor’s in food business leadership.

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In order to draw as many of the best students and future industry leaders as possible, more than 90% of CIA students receive some form of financial assistance. And, following graduation, the school helps them seek out and secure the best opportunities in their chosen sector, and offers ongoing career services. The school also hosts career fairs and networking days.

Moreover, the Campaign for the Culinary Institute of America, currently underway, underscores the institution’s ongoing commitment to its own constant development, including inclues plans for a theatre and conference center at Hyde Park, a national database of recipes, a new wing for Roth Hall including a teaching kitchen, cutting-edge equipment, and a dedicated research and development facility, sustainable demonstration gardens, and culture exchange programs worldwide.

In 2023, CIA students can focus on general culinary studies or select from a range of specialisations, at both the bachelor's and master's level. Some concentrations offer the ability to spend a 15-week semester at the California or Texas campuses, or in another country. There are now Bachelor of Business Administration degrees and a major in Hospitality, traditionally sequestered from the culinary arts, and a Master of Professional Studies in Wine and Beverage Management. The Institute, which began as a small vocational school for GIs, has become a seemingly permanent feature of the global culinary landscape. And, in a spectacle that would no doubt please Ms. Angell and Ms Roth, its campuses look and feel like any other college… except maybe for all the white coats.

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